#yeah i get the age being dif to humans

[crvida]

swear to protect your child?? but grover should be at the club

[zoekrystall]

I will never not be at least a bit baffled how I never got into mcr. A friend can happily try to change that but I tried to for them but just. Could not get into it. By all means I should or child me should have but I guess it never aligned for me. Like yeah I like the black parade who doesn't but that's that.

Thought brought to you by listening to three days grace again and thinking abt all bands/artists I listened to in childhood bc life sucked.

I listened to three days grace a fuck ton I listened to human and one-x prob the most but also life starts now lots.

Also hollywood undead but only selected songs (medicine the most prob, next to kill everyone, and dead bite. less I don't wanna die, and save me)

Skillet but I don't really anymore at least the new stuff. I listened to all of rise a lot. freakshow, madness in me, and circus for a psycho, rise the most tho prob. album awake too, monster is such a known song. i think? i listened to the album comatose also a lot. mix of wanting to die while being lovesick ig.

Fall out boy too but more selective. the phoenix, my songs know what you did in the dark, this ain't a scene it's an arms race, twin skeletons (hotel in nyc)

Grounbreaking a fuck ton the album we are monsters came out when I got snatched from home and put somewhere that only caused more trauma for the first time and I could forever talk abt him I listen to everything since then.

Set it off too but not too many dif songs back then. midnight had such a tight grip on me and i still find the whole album such a banger but that came out in 2019.

Oh fuck almost forgot linkin park (i still think abt those dumb "link in park" edits w tloz link in a park help). who doesn't know at least in the end. listened to a few songs by them too. in the end is still such a banger.

idk does icon for hire count I think. I still follow them i listened to a lot of their stuff at night esp the albums scripted and you can't kill us.

I think those are all in this category that I have kind of a connection to artist wise and didn't just listen to a couple of songs. all others aren't such artists bc i also coped w love songs a fuck ton (and my lifeline who I thought abt when I did remains the same and prob will until i die) or other stuff

ofc i was and still am a marina girlie but that isn't in this category. electra heart fav album there prob.

others that either a i only listened to a few songs but the band/artist doesn't really mean anything to me or b the artist means smth to me but i don't think it's in the same category as the above ones. still only ones for coping (you could argue all music is but like. ones that got prioritized at night either bc comfy or ones that made me get to cry bc fuck was that hard to do thx to circumstances. only had some weekends at actual own home for that privacy). obv not every single song just if ik the band is/was popular or at least that song or if i liked it significantly enough back then.

Veridia. I listened to at the end of the world, pretty lies (nightcore ty for introducing), and crazy in a good way the most. but also disconnected and cheshire smile.

Some stuff from alec benjamin mostly as nightcore. paper crown, mind is a prison, must have been the wind (the most prob, hold wait what how 2020 that feels older, tech dismissed but whatev), outrunning karma, water fountain, i built a friend

Freaks from timmy trumpet and savage is a classic and I still freq listen to it it is such a banger ngl

Be somebody and the end is where we begin by thousand foot krutch. both well known and still rly good.

Someone finally buy me lost ember bc the song all that you are is extremely comforting since years

Simeon curtis's whole R△ album. Still listen to him often. also a fair amount of super 8-bit heart.

you're going down by sick puppies. don't got much to say i just know its popular and i listened to it a fair amount.

all the king's men by the rigs. have not listened to it in ages but it is rly pretty.

hey alice by rachel rose mitchell. still rly love this song sang it a lot and i do listen to the new stuff toom underrated artist imo.

idk why but spotify threw good for you from that dear evan hansen musical in my face years ago and it rly got me so. here. i love musical songs ngl and i mean. it is rly good. idk how the musical is idc.

OH MY GOD I FORGOT PAPA ROACH to be fair that is in the middle I mainly just cared abt some songs. like. getting away with murder and last resort.

panic at the disco prob belongs at the top but idc anymore I wrote too much. fuck urie i only care abt the past stuff and if i say i love it does it only apply to the good times. too weird to live too young to die and death of a bachelor my beloved. i listened to sm on death of a bachelor and still do.

landslide by oh wonder. oh my god. i found it through the wander over yonder fandom ages ago iirc. it is. so so so pretty and still makes me almost immediately cry. such a nice song and was much needed.

to keep the v v pretty. where butterflies never die by broken iris is rly pretty. i however inflicted emotional damage on myself mostly with a new hope which I still canNOT fully listen to ages later without an emotional reaction.

ofc i also know wonderwall by oasis but i don't think it ever hit me as much as it did for others

king and lionheart n also mountain sound by of monsters and men. still rly love mountain sound.

just. a lot by nickelback. i still like the songs or at least some of it. the ones i listened to the most back then were holding on to heaven, don't ever let it end, if everyone cared, just to get high, if today was your last day (i think one of the first ones i heard, thx to a sonic x amv out of all possibilities sjsk)

boy like me by new medicine made me embarrassingly sad. i just remember making a bath so hot my skin gets red turning my love playlist on w these songs and zoning out weekly.

omg right lots of songs by madame macabre. mostly god syndrome, the pianist, cybernetic entities, balloon animals iirc.

also like just lots of others as nightcore or vocaloid songs I'm forgetting. like echo for example.

i listened a lot too dreams of an absolution too from sonic 06. still one of my favs idk if i used it for neg or pos.

maps by kurt hugo schneider n others the i think? cover? is so pretty i listened and sang it a lot in the night. still one of my favs.

imagine dragons w their old bangers monster, i bet my life, etc. ofc too. hate how they're nowadays.

only one by illenium was such a comfort song god. v pretty. can't listen to it while doing stuff. idk if it is more directed towards my back then bff or my other lifeline.

oh right halsey. i listend to gasoline so damn much. also to castle and control occasionally.

i was also obsessed with i miss the misery by halestorm

omg right. you're so creepy by ghost town. i still kinda like it it is so edgy. lil me was way more obsessed.

don't you dare forget the sun n keep myself alive by get scared. i still rly like them.

one for the money by escape the fate

Appalachian wine by eleventyseven is still rly pretty

Until we die by daïtshi

dance with the devil by breaking benjamin

this is gonna hurt by sixx:a.m.

and way way more if I would've moved the cut off year up but I wanted to focus early years not when I was v close to being an adult

to end this my all time comfort song I often cried myself to sleep with forever ago is fallen angel from panty and stocking. dreams dreams (adult vers not the kids thx) from nights journey of dreams was also a rly big one. in the name of love but only alexander stewart's cover was also rly comforting in the night and still is. only know a nightcore of it.

[jasontoddiefor]

Summary: In a world where the different Jedi sects co-exist, Ahsoka Tano and her Master Obi-Wan Kenobi are waiting for a stranger in the desert.

AN: I have started a new WIP.

Ahsoka had learned quite a lot since she had become her Master’s Padawan. Mostly she had been taught how to fight, take down opponents twice her size, how to defend and protect others by building walls higher than anyone could climb, and not get lost in the screaming, tear-stained horror of war. Perhaps it was not the padawanhood that Ahsoka had imagined, but she wouldn’t trade Obi-Wan for any other Master. He was patient, kind, and never lost his temper with her, even when Ahsoka made a foolish mistake, and the day had been longer than a week.

Her Master always kept busy, running around organizing one thing or another. The evidence of his exhaustion was visible in the bags under his eyes he didn’t quite manage to hide behind meditations anymore. He was relentlessly trying to find a way to end this war earlier, to save more people, to lessen the burden on each and every person he loved. Ahsoka would be glad if they could cease fighting within just a few short months, but even she knew that the chance of peace was dwindling with every life lost on either side.

And they certainly weren’t on Tatooine to talk about peace. At most, they were hoping to negotiate non-involvement from the Hutts – at least superficially, of course the Hutts would continue with their underground dealings, even the GAR relied on it – and use of their hyperspace lanes.

“General, if you don’t mind me asking, who are we waiting for?”

Ahsoka was glad that Cody had spoken up. She wasn’t sure if she would have been able to keep her silence much longer. She hadn’t wanted to pester Obi-Wan with questions, but she was curious why they had landed in the middle of the Force-forsaken desert in the middle of the night and not anywhere near Jabba’s palace.

“We are waiting for an informant,” Obi-Wan said. “An old friend, if you will.”

Ahsoka opened her mouth to ask what kind of friend Obi-Wan had on Tatooine of all places when she saw a figure approaching on a speeder. Immediately, everyone looked up. When a few of the more blaster-inclined clones of their small squadron reached for their weapons, Obi-Wan gave them the hand sign to lay low. They exchanged curious looks but dropped the guns, trusting him completely. Ahsoka hoped that she could inspire such trust in her someday.

The person parked their speeder just outside of their camp. From what Ahsoka could see, they were dressed entirely in dark robes, cut not dissimilar to those of a Coruscanti Jedi, while their face was covered by a dark scarf. Various trinkets hung from their belts and arms, as well as twin blasters, making the barest of noises when they approached the camp. Golden jewelry glinted in the light of their fire, feathers, pouches, bells, and something that could be bones chimed sweetly with the wind. The figure stretched, then they took notice of Obi-Wan. Quicker than Ahsoka could have stopped them, they had crossed the remaining distance and thrown themselves at Obi-Wan.

“Obi-Wan!”

Her Master just barely managed to keep his balance as he accepted the hug of the other person. They embraced tightly, an eternity passing in which dark leather-gloved fingers dug into her Master’s back, then let go of each other. The figure removed the dark scarf from around their head, let it fall around their neck, revealing tanned skin, a human face, and dark blonde hair that was framed by little golden feathers tugged behind his ears.

The person smiled openly, rolled forward on their toes and only then spoke. “It’s been a while.”

Their voice was surprisingly soft, melodic almost.

“That it has,” Obi-Wan agreed, smiling just as welcoming, the Force lighting up in reciprocal. “It has been too long since we last saw each other, Anakin. Thank you for meeting us here, even if the circumstances are not ideal.”

The newly named Anakin just shrugged. “I was in the area and really, making an extra stop at Tatooine for you is no trouble.”

The two looked ready to forget about just everyone else still standing around the campfire, watching them, and so Ahsoka decided to do her duty and coughed. “Master, would you be so kind as to introduce us?”

“Ah, yes, of course. Apologies, Ahsoka.”

“Ahsoka,” Anakin mumbled, then snapped their fingers, alight with recognition as they faced Obi-Wan. “Your Padawan, correct?”

Obi-Wan nodded and Anakin grinned, pointing at Cody next. “And then that must be Cody. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Anakin Skywalker, he/him.”

He bowed formally with both his feet firm on the ground, one hand clasped over his heart, the other on his back. Delighted, Ahsoka copied the gesture. It had been ages since she’d been at the temple and someone had greeted her with all the respect Jedi usually gave each other.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Ahsoka returned his greeting, still trying to figure out who this Anakin was that her Master had decided to talk to him about her.

“Anakin here is a Teepo Paladin—”

“Sort of,” Anakin interrupted Obi-Wan, tilting his hand and shaking it in a so-and-so matter. “I haven’t been back to our temple in years, so I’m still not technically a Paladin, but still a Knight on their Search…”

He stopped talking when he realized that nobody had any idea of what he was talking about. Ahsoka didn’t know much about the Teepo Paladins. They were a relatively small group, and unlike the Altisian or Corellian Jedi, they hadn’t joined the Republic Army and stayed mostly on their own, following the Force. Ahsoka had learned about them, and all the other groups the ordinary sentient threw under the header Jedi, in her classes, but she’d never actually met a Teepo Jedi.

“Doesn’t matter,” Anakin said, shaking his head. “How can I help you?”

“We need to negotiate with Jabba,” Obi-Wan said, not wasting a single minute. “Do you think you can tell us something that would be useful?”

“Uh,” Anakin put his head in his hands. “Yeah, he’s a bastard and gates my guts. If he sees me around you guys, it’s definitely not going to be pleasant.”

“What did you do to him?” Ahsoka asked, curiosity taking ahold of her tongue before she could stop herself.

Anakin didn’t seem to mind the interruption; he only eagerly continued his narration. “Decided to steal his latest shipment of slaves and then some. With Coruscant, Corellia, and the Altisian bores—”

“Anakin.” Her Master’s voice rang out sharp, reminding Ahsoka of the times he scolded her.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine, the Altisian Jedi all running the Republic army, the rest, who hasn’t sworn allegiance to a planet or a system, is just doing damage control all around. I’ve wrecked a couple dozen pirate ships already, or so it feels, at least. But yeah, long story short, I won’t be able to help with Jabba, but I can provide backup if it goes sideways?”

Obi-Wan sighed, but even so, he still felt happy and comfortable to Ahsoka’s senses as he hadn’t in weeks. “We’ll take what we can get. I’ll call the Council. Do you want to stay with us for the night?”

Anakin gave him a thumbs up. “Already told my mother I was staying. And I brought my own food, so you don’t have to spare your rations. I think I might even have some sweets.” He glanced at Ahsoka and winked conspiringly, making her giggle.

Obi-Wan’s expression softened. “Alright, alright, I see, you’re set for life. Get comfortable then.”

He turned around to walk a little away from the camp, but from the way his shoulders twitched, Ahsoka assumed that he definitely heard Anakin’s shouted: “Not without you!”

As her Master had ordered, everyone who wasn’t on watch gathered around the campfire and broke out the rations. Anakin did, indeed, share his candy with her and handed out more of the local food to the clones.

“My mother packed it,” he said when he shared more of the salt-covered blackberries. “It would be a waste not to share it.”

Sitting around the fire with them, he fit right in despite not looking much like a warrior. If anything, his attire, decorated with trinkets that had to stem from various planets, reminded Ahsoka of a traveler. But if she were to believe his stories, he must be quite the fighter. Ahsoka knew that more and more pirates were growing powerful and influential without Coruscant’s oversight, but she hadn’t known that the other sects had stepped up to deal with it. She wondered if the Council knew. Though, Obi-Wan hadn’t seemed surprised by it, so they were probably aware.

“So, do you not carry a lightsaber?” Ticker, one of the younger clones, asked. “I only see your blasters. I didn’t know Jedi carried those.”

“The Coruscant sect doesn’t,” Anakin agreed and then turned to Ahsoka. “Though, I think you’re still all taught how to? I know Obi-Wan’s wickedly good with a sniper rifle.”

“Of course,” Ahsoka replied quickly. She got her blaster sessions with the best marksmen of the 212th, who all ensured she should be fine if she ever lost her lightsaber.

Not that Ahsoka was planning on it.

“Right, my Order carries blasters additionally to our lightsabers.” He moved his robes and revealed his lightsaber. “I just keep it a little more hidden away. It makes it easier to work sometimes if people don’t see from a mile away that you’re a Jedi.”

Ahsoka found herself agreeing with him. It made sense and she knew that there had been at least five missions that would have been easier if their target hadn’t immediately spotted that she was a lightsaber. She knew that her Order carried the blades openly purposefully so that they could be easily identified, they had to be as they were an officially recognized member of the Republic, but Quinlan and Aayla didn’t. Most Covenant Jedi actually didn’t, ensuring they could do their work in the shadows. Occasionally, Ahsoka wondered whether she was supposed to know so much about how they operated, or if that was just a benefit of Obi-Wan being close friends with Quinlan.

“And where’s the difference between your… everything and the General’s?”

“Don’t ask me for details,” Anakin said. “Haven’t had one of those discussions in a while, but our differences aren’t that huge. Most of the differences stem from the Republic backing of the Coruscant sect, I think. The members of my Order just also carry blasters and fight entirely submerged in the Force. We also don’t really do missions, which sucks for budgeting because we still have to get funding, and just go wherever the Force takes us. We don’t really have the numbers to provoke the big changes, that’s more up Coruscant’s or Corellia’s alley. We try to help the small people on the ground and hope the big guys make sure we can leave one planet in safe hands and travel to the next.”

That sounded familiar to Ahsoka. The Coruscant sect was the largest, so they had the most influence, even if too many Senators only played pretend at listening to their suggestions. At least the Chancellor trusted them.

“What do you mean, fight submerged in the Force?” A different clone, Storytime, ever the curious, spoke up. “Is that different from the General and the Commander?”

“Oh! Right.” Anakin laughed. “So basically, we cover our eyes and ears during a fight?”

“You do what?” Cody’s alarmed tone made Ahsoka only snort. She still remembered his attempt at getting Obi-Wan to wear a little more armor by pointing at the Revanchist folks that had accompanied them on one mission.

It had been an absolute train-wreck, but they had managed to succeed. Somehow.

Anakin only grinned in reply and reached for the golden feathers behind his ears. He took them off, revealing that they were not, in fact, feathers, but electronic devices with small buttons. 

“I tap these, and they block out any and all noise and cover my eyes. Then I trust the Force to keep me safe and tell me where I need to pay attention.”

“That sounds… risky.” If Ahsoka didn’t know better, she’d say that Cody was having a heart attack. His assessment of that fighting style had been exceedingly polite given that he looked as if he wanted to cuss it out.

Anakin shrugged as if it were no big deal to him and, having grown up in such a way, it probably wasn’t. “It wasn’t that difficult to get used to. I grew up here on Tatooine. The sand and the heat steal away plenty of your senses already.”

“You weren’t raised in your temple then?”

Anakin shook his head. “No, not really. We do have a temple, a rather small one, not even a tenth of Coruscant’s size. We raise children there, but most of the time, everyone is just on their Search.”

He emphasized the last word so that Ahsoka concluded it must be a special ritual that wasn’t like their Search for younglings.

“My Master was on his Search when he found me and since the Force didn’t call him home, he continued to travel with me.”

That sounded like a strange childhood to have. Ahsoka hadn’t known anything of the galaxy but the temple walls and Ilum until Obi-Wan had accepted her as his Padawan. Since then, she had seen plenty of other planets, even if she hadn’t had too much time to appreciate their beauty. She wondered how Anakin had gotten his education. Ahsoka had attended many classes of dozens of teachers in the temple. His childhood didn’t appear to resemble hers a lot, but she could easily picture a small human boy trailing after another masked Jedi, chatting with just the same cheer he was talking now.

“Sounds fascinating,” Storytime breathed. 

“Once the war is over, feel free to come to visit us. I know of at least one other Paladin who has attached himself to a Clone squadron and is planning to take them home for a visit at least once.”

“That would be very kind,” Storytime replied.

“No problem.”

Anakin then suddenly turned his head, his motion so rash that the clones instinctually reached for their blasters. Thankfully, they recognized Obi-Wan quickly enough that nobody got hurt accidentally.

Obi-Wan only blinked at them and then sat down next to Anakin. “What a lovely greeting.”

Some of the clones sheepishly packed their blasters away while others just shot back a look that was as dry as Obi-Wan’s words. They were on Tatooine; it made sense to be even more on guard than usual.

“And? What did your Council say?” Anakin asked, handing Obi-Wan a plate with food.

“Coruscant is not taking any responsibility for any outside agents who might get involved in this mission,” Obi-Wan replied, the flow of his words so steady that he had to be reciting the words of another.

“That’s council speak for ‘let him do whatever he wants’, right?”

Obi-Wan paused with his meal to confirm his question. “Yes, Anakin, that means you can do whatever you want. But if you get invited by the Republic for a hearing, we’re not backing you up either.”

“Yes, yes, I had expected nothing else from you sticker-to-the-rules Coruscanti.”

“Says the head-in-the-clouds Teepo,” Obi-Wan retorted in the same manner, matching Anakin’s intonation, quoting old stereotypes that used to be hurled as insults but have since only become something almost akin to terms of endearments.

“So, when are we going to leave?” Ahsoka asked. She wanted to know if she should go to bed early or prepare herself for a long night.

“Tomorrow before the sun rises,” Obi-Wan said, glancing at Anakin for confirmation.

“Yes, best to leave early on Tatooine. I’d also suggest trying to get some sleep. Negotiations will be exhausting.”

Obi-Wan hummed in agreement. “You know what that means, Ahsoka.”

“Yes, yes.” Ahsoka stood up. “Bedtime for me. I’m not a little youngling anymore, Master. I know when to get my sleep.”

She bid them goodnight and headed back towards the ship, ready to sleep curled up in the small med-station of their transport that was as close to a proper bed as she could get. She didn’t know how much longer her Master and his friend stayed up, but both looked well-rested when she got up the next day. Her Master, perhaps, even a little less exhausted than usual.

[eternitas-archive]

Oh one more thing before I leave

It’s just my two cents but I really gotta speak it into the world.

This is gonna be LONG so here have a read more

You all are hypocritical cherry pickers that want fandoms and communities to cater to your interests and morals

And let me tell you honey, that is gonna ruin not only your own experience, but everyone elses.

Lemme adress some things

Why y’all so ready to cry wolf when someone ages up a character?

The discourse is probably as old as this fucking community. It happens every other month and I am sick of it. “If you age up characters you are a pedo uvu sorry I don’t make the rules.” yes you do. You literally made up your own fucking rules about this. “Well you are shipping with a minor!” they’re aged up. “But you still ship with a minor!!”

Okay by that logic, why are we allowing all these other shippers doing their thing? The people that ship with Sans from Undertale that is a skeleton? I mean he is still just a skeleton linking him strongly to the image of death so necrophilia much?

What about the people shipping with inanimate objects? The people shipping with transformers? Those are aliens and or vehicles? Yeah that is mechanophilia.

What about people who ship with f/os that have animalistic features? I mean they are mainly antropomorphic but they still are animals. Beastiality

“No wait that is all dif-”

How about the people shipping with villains and criminals? Clearly that means they endorse that shit irl.

What about the people that ship with people MUUUCH older than them? some millenia or hundreds of years? or just 20? clearly endorse predatory behavior

While we’re at it what’s up with people shipping with divine beings? Angels? Demons? Sounds like blatant blasphemy to me

Do I want you to double down so you can prove yourself right? NO! I want you to understand that you guys are cherry picking and not understanding correlation between topics! Are there legit pedos on tumblr? yes. is it a strangers job to care for all the minors out there? no? If I go into a park it is not my job to hold an eye out for all kids that there are. I am not their parent, guardian or otherwise a person with any responsibility towards them. Same for people on the internet. I will do my shit and keep to myself. and if I happen to enjoy stuff for myself that is my right. Do I halt at a red light bc I want to be a good example for kids so they don’t learn bad behavior? Can I stop every person that crosses a red light and hold them a long ass lecture about how they endorse dangers in the streets? No.

“But there are minors on the internet!” Yes, I am aware, they will always be, always have been, your point?

“We need to make a safe space for the kids!” No we don’t? people need to follow the Terms of Service of a platform and honestly most people that reblog nsfw stuff even clearly state that minors should not interact.

“No like, YOU need to be on your best behavior bc there could be a minor anywhere!”

Since when did I become these minors parent? Since when did someone push these kids into my lap and say “your responsibility now”?

You need to understand that you can’t always just get upset at stuff EXISTING

nsfw fics are usually tagged and marked accordingly, most people that engage in a lot of nsfw stuff usually have “minors don’t interact” on their blog somewhere. Some even BLOCK people that follow them and are clear minors, that’s some DEDICATION.

But I have seen posts catering to FUCKING WRITERS saying “pls keep nsfw out of ur imagines and reader fics :)))) for the minors, otherwise I cant reblog it.” If you want to cater to your minor audience sure, but I can not stress enough how you can not tell others how to run their shit. Yes, you can suggest that to the imagine writers or writers in general but it is their right to say “no I run it like I want to” and proceed with their shit. And there is nothing you can do about it. Besides if minors really want some nsfw, trust me they WILL find it. Should we therefore police everyone and stuck them into horny jail? No.

“haha look at this lame ass adult getting upset they can’t be predatory anymore bc they are being called out on their pedophilia”

Idk how to tell you that it’s none of your fucking buisness what my personal history is and that you have no claim outside of “aging up is pedophilia” but sure go off, bc I am “upset I can not be predatory” anymore and not just outraged people are throwing around unreasonable claims.

Why would I even age up a character if pedophilia is about being into MINORS? Why would I age a character up if the WHOLE THING about pedophilia is that they are kids????

“Okay but then it’s predatory!” There is a point that depictions of an adult dating someione who is “barely legal” normalizes predatory behavior, but honestly, why is that MY responsibility? And who says I age them up to be barely legal? My social media/tumblr/ selfship experience is a very private thing. It’s a very personal thing, so why tf do I need to cater it to people who are NOT ME? When I do that it’s because I want to do it, not because I need to fill some moral obligations. (and yet I can say that YES caring about lgbt, other religious, non white selfshippers and boosting them is something generally people should do)

Like there is a thing about fiction. It doesn’t age like normal people. When I started to love one of my f/os we were the same age. The series eventually ended, it didn’t progress in real time, so I grew up while they stayed their age. And guess what! none of this backstory is any of your god damn buisness!! I don’t OWE it to you as much as writers and others don’t owe their trauma to you just so you can “give them permission” to deal with their trauma through selfshipping or writing. Who do you think you fucking are?

Fiction is not reality. And I am sick being stuck in medevial dark ages europe where people believed everything on a stage to be real life. Where actors were not allowed to exist and the people that did act and depicted a bad guy were generally shunned and hated by everyone bc they didn’t distinguish between fiction and reality.

Does fiction have an effect on reality? Yes. Jaws had repurcussions. Even the german novella “Die Leiden des jungen Werthers” had about a dozen suicides following the lead of the main character. 50 shades had an effect. 13 reasons why had an effect. But that doesn’t mean what you believe it means.

In the end I can not take the role of these minors parents to educate them and look after them. It shouldn’t be my job. And yes there are a lot of scummy adults on the internet. Like a LOT. But you need to understand that the internet will NEVER be a child safe place. And most adults take precautions already!

But fics aren’t for morality lessons. Fics aren’t for sex education. Fics aren’t there to be a fucking HOLY BOOK. Fics are just creative writing. And selfshippers are just there to have a bad time. And if they act out SURE call them out but otherwise just leave them tf alone?

“No no, what you write is what you actively endorse uvu”

Then say good bye to Horror and thriller. Say good by to books involving cheating. Say good bye to books in which anyone ever gets harmed. Say good bye to books ever even mentioning any problematic topic that isn’t 100% uwu pure

“Wait no that is different-”

How is it? Is it only problematic when you get off of it? Is that your argument? Are we going the christian route of condemning being sexually free and enjoying something that is legit a very important thing to a lot of people? (yes to asexuals their LACK of sexual attraction can also be a very important topic bc they have the right to express that without being condemed for not wanting to BONE or not being able to get horny by looking at bodies.)

Yes the over fetishization of certain topics is problematic, yes there is a lot of toxicity when it comes to porn and that shit, but kinks are just kinks.

“So you say pedophilia is just a kink!”

No. Pedophilia is aweful and no child should ever suffer through that sort of exploitation.

“But you say rape is just a kink!”

No. Real life rape is aweful and whoever rapes another human being deserves death full stop.

“You just said-”

YES! I know what I said! A lot of people hate real life stuff that they endorse in fiction. Some people are into pissing and shitting into each other! Some people are into hardcore bondage! And they all have their own histories, their own lifes and it’s their fucking thing? Do I want death on all rapists? Yes. Do I sometimes have questionable fantasies that might involve non con or dubious consent? Yes, so? Do I have my reasons for that? Yes, it’s none of your gd buisness?

It all always boils down to entitlement. Y’all need to understand that you can’t just run around demanding everyone to cater to your bullshit. You can not run around accusing people of pedophilia just because they would like to see themselves date a fictional character, but in their age.

If it makes you uncomfortable then don’t follow and interact with those people but you don’t need to pretend to have some moral high ground so you are the better person. You can just... have dislikes?

Even so, as I make this post I can not speak in broad terms because each case, each person is individual. Maybe some get off on shit and endorse it, how should I know? Maybe someone out there is fighting for not policing and censoring stuff because they actively want more pedo content, I don’t know, I am not the CIA or FBI?

It’s also none of my buisness. Is it aweful that these people exist? yeah. Are they prone to be on tumblr? probably? Are they that selfshipper that ages up their f/o so they can smooch? Unlikely.

People have their reasons. Their backstories, and none of that should have to be layed open just to get a strangers “okay” for shipping with the fictional character that makes them happy.

so uuuh before I leave

tldr: y’all full of shit and aging up is not pedophilia, you are just trying to give yourself some moral highground. you sound like a flatearther lol.

Gates closed, bitches

[swindlersstole]

SO. @exiledatrocity​, i have no idea if you remember this:

but I remembered and I finally did it can I get a yeehaw

~

17. Under a bridge

This grove was way too lousy with little devils, Erik decided.

Truth be told, he’d decided that when they dealt with the first one in the chest, but while they hadn’t gotten any less annoying after that, they had at least stayed at the same level of threat—which was, to say, none at all. A nuisance, yes, but not the worst thing to happen to him and Nova all week, he thought.

Then one popped up riding on a cyclops’ shoulder.

This was a pretty common sight back in the forests of Sniflheim--trolls and ogres and the like hiding underneath bridges and underpasses waiting to get the drop on a hapless traveler was such a normal happenstance that it really only worked on people outside of the region. The locals knew all too well which areas to avoid, and Erik was no different. But it was a trend that didn’t seem to extend far beyond the Hekswood, so he’d never thought he’d have to worry about it until the day he went back.

If Erik had to make a guess, this was probably the fault of the devil. Little schemers, as the name suggested, it must have been smart enough to know there was power in numbers, and sensible enough to realize there was also power in being huge. It was certainly cackling like that was the case, laughing relentlessly at the puny humans unfortunate enough to cross their path.

In fact, it was laughing quite a bit. At his right, Nova gave Erik a very confused face, and Erik could only shrug back in turn. The cyclops seemed pretty weary of the situation, too.

The cackling didn’t seem to have any sign of stopping, and Erik cleared his throat. “Uhh… can we help you?”

“Kyaha--hrrm!” The devil snapped back to attention, posing as menacingly as it could on the troll’s shoulder. “You’ll be doing a lot more than that, chum! You lot are sneaking onto our territory, don’t you know.”

“No, we don’t.” Nova said, no less confused than he had been before. “We literally just walked over from the campsite.” The bundle of firewood they had collected for the night sat in his arms still as evidence. “You… definitely weren’t here five minutes ago.”

“Seriously. Were you stalking us, just waiting to get the drop?” Erik smirked. “Gotta say, that’s pretty lame of you. Following some strangers around just to toss a riddle on them.”

“Wha--a riddle?” Nova repeated, but went unanswered, because the little devil flung its fist around in a growing tantrum.

“How dare you! I was planning on taking your goods, but I’ve a right mind to clobber you senseless for that!”

The devil jumped up, and Erik’s hand darted for his dagger--but the cyclops was faster, and pushed the devil back on its shoulder with one smooshing of its big hand.

“Easy there, now.” The cyclops said, calm and steady. “We got ourselves a man a’ culture, ‘ere.”

The cyclops turned to look at Erik with a look of--what Erik assumed to be--newfound respect. “Y’know ‘bout the ol’ troll traditions, do ye’, guv?”

Still hesitant about the situation, Erik lowered his hand slowly. “About handing out riddles to travelers under bridges? Sure.”

“That’s… a thing?” Nova asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, it is. You don’t really see it this far south, though.” Erik crossed his arms. “Or from… well. From not a troll, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“No, right you are on that.” The cyclops seemed to take no offense, and beat at its chest once with its fist in pride. “Mum was a troll, though. Got th’ blood in me, I do.”

“Ah. Family tradition, then. I can respect that.” Erik nodded. “So, am I wrong in thinking that’s what we’ve been stopped for?”

“Well, it wasn’t ‘ntended. But, seein’ ‘as ‘ow yer in the know,” said the cyclops, almost sagely so, “I can’t rightly ignore th’ call. If you gents can answer a riddle, we’ll let ye by, no strings attached.”

“Really?” asked Nova, clearly relieved.

“What?!” shrieked the little devil, clearly ticked off.

“And if we can’t answer it,” Erik continued, with a raised brow, “we’ll have to go through the whole ‘grind our bones to make your bread’ song and dance, I take it?”

“Nah, just a regular ‘old up.” The cyclops waved away the clarification, like it was all just business as usual. “We did away wit’ the bones thing ages ago. Threw it out wit’ the bathwater when we unionized.”

“You unionized?” Color Erik surprised. And impressed. “Huh. Good for you.”

“Ex-cuuuse me!” The little devil looked more akin to a kettle left to boil, whistling up a storm. It tapped its heel against the cyclops’ shoulder to get its attention. “What do we look like, sphinxes?! We’re not running a bleedin’ brain teaser operation here!”

“Oi.” The cyclops narrowed its eye, voice still calm but laced with a threat. “It’s in me nature, it is. Can’t fight nature. An’ I ‘aven’t stopped you from playing yer dirty tricks up till now, now ‘ave I, mate? That’s your nature, innit?”

“Hrrrrgh...!” The devil grabbed at its horns in frustration. “At least make them… I don’t know, do something humiliating! You can’t just leave a chance like this be!”

The cyclops rolled its eye with a groan, before addressing Erik again. “Awful sorry ‘bout this, guv. You mind terribly answerin’ with an action, an’ not a word? ‘Fraid I won’t be ‘earin’ the end o’ this, otherwise.”

Erik and Nova glanced at one another, pity for this honorable cyclops on both their faces. Nova shrugged, and Erik ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, you’re being awfully considerate about it.” And the cyclops really was—easily within the Top Ten Monsters Erik Had Ever Met. “Wouldn’t be right if we started being picky now. Give us your best.”

The cyclops pounded its fist in his free hand, pleased by the answer. “Right, then. This should go down nice for everyone.”

It cleared its throat--and the guy really did seem pretty eager for this, Erik noted. Even monsters had itches to scratch, it seemed.

“‘Shared between two’,” the cyclops began, “‘Most often to woo. Sometimes hot and sometimes cold; the beginning of us all, young and old’.”

Out of the corner of Erik’s eye, Nova suddenly and very visibly tensed.

“Now, remember, to make this one ‘appy--” The cyclops gave the devil the side-eye, “--I’ll be needin’ ye to show me the answer. Not just say it.” It grumbled. “Really, dreadful sorry ‘bout it. Tried to give ye a nice one.”

“Oh, no trouble at all.” Erik said, swinging an arm over Nova’s shoulders, and noting all too clearly how he jumped from the contact. “Give us a minute to discuss.”

He turned them both away from the monstrous pair, and got a good look at Nova’s face. As Erik had suspected, he looked more frazzled than a simple riddle should have arguably left the Luminary, of all people. It didn’t bode too well.

“So. Judging from that face, you know the answer?”

Nova clutched at the firewood like a lifeline. “I--yeah, I do, actually. Do you?”

“Nope,” Erik said, “so how about you share the damage?”

For whatever reason, this very clearly did nothing to ease Nova’s nerves, and Erik swore he could probably hear how hard his heart was beating from the other end of the grove. “Are you… feeling alright?”

“It--ugh, cripes.” Nova brought a hand to his face, rubbing his temples. “I’m… fine. It’s nothing we can’t actually do, but it… there’s no getting around it, this is going to be awkward.”

“You’re beating around the bush, man.” He gave Nova’s shoulder a hearty pat. “Come on, spit it out.”

Nova made a strangled noise--and that got an excited gasp out of the devil, Erik heard--before his shoulders sank in defeat. 

“Erik,” he said, “we have to kiss.”

Erik blinked. He slid his arm off Nova’s shoulders, hand coming to his chin, and he paused to consider this information. 

“...Ohhh.” He said at last, understanding and unbothered, “‘Shared between two, most often to woo’... yeah, that does fit the bill, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it… yeah.” Nova lowered his head--the devil snickered not discreetly behind them at the sight--and he sighed. “So, you can see why this is a problem.”

“Not really, no.”

Nova snapped back up to look at him so fast, panic in his eyes and no color in his face, Erik was sure he heard his neck crack.

“You’re... okay with this?” He may as well have squeaked the word out. “You’re okay with this. How are you okay with this.”

“Hey, comparatively? That cyclops is on our side.” Erik shrugged. “It could have given us something way worse, or just skipped the formalities and come at us swinging. I’d say we got out pretty lucky.”

“Well… I guess, but—“

“Nova, come on.”

His hand fell back on Nova’s shoulder, and when Nova looked at him, he smiled. Erik hoped it was at least a little bit comforting; poor guy had way too much excitement in the past few days for just a simple country boy, and preferable as this riddle was to another fight they were too exhausted to handle, this might’ve been the last nail in the proverbial coffin for the Luminary.

“I got a plan, so just follow my lead. It’s gonna be okay. Trust me.” He squeezed Nova’s shoulder, and smirked. “You do trust me, right?”

Nova swallowed, but some color returned to his face--specifically in his cheeks, and probably not the color he would have wanted. It took some self-restraint on Erik’s part not to laugh; turned out Yggdrasil’s favorite little leaf was surprisingly (or perhaps fittingly?) chaste.

“I… of course I do, Erik.”

“Fantastic.” Probably not the wisest decision the Luminary could make, but it did do wonders for Erik’s ego. “Just relax, and let me handle it.”

He didn’t wait for an affirmation. Erik turned on his heel, back to face the monsters with confidence; Nova followed him in lockstep, anxiously clutching the firewood like a lifeline. “Hey! I think we got it all squared away.”

“Oh, we’ll be the judges of that!” The devil laughed, and the cyclops sighed in turn. At least the little demon was in on the bit now. “Go on, get to showing, then!”

“Man, you really have no sense of romance, do you?” Erik sighed. “Have it your way. Hold still a sec, Nova.”

That was not going to be a difficult request. Nova had planted his feet firmly on the ground, as it steeling himself for a hit, and when Erik brushed his left hand on Nova’s right cheek, he near well flinched at the touch. Erik couldn’t help the snicker that got out of him that time, and the glare Nova gave him was more akin to a pout; for his sake at least, Erik was glad his hand was blocking Nova’s face from the monsters.

Not that he couldn’t block much else about this, but. Price of the plan.

“Remember, just keep cool.” He muttered. “This’ll be over before you know it.”

“I… okay, but--” Nova whispered back, “But you still haven’t told me what y—”

Erik cut him off, swiping his right thumb on Nova’s lips, and pulled their faces to meet.

Nova made a noise, somewhere between a yelp and a muffled scream, and Erik had to imagine that he was making an expression to match, so it was a shame he had to miss it. Erik had closed his eyes once his lips had hit his thumb; one of them had to make this all believable, and that duty had long since fallen on his shoulders. Lucky for them he wasn’t half bad an actor.

To his credit, Nova was a fast learner. And if they’d had some time to prepare this plan in advance, he probably would have sold the act just as well. But they hadn’t had the time, and Nova went stock still in Erik’s hands, and his face and neck burnt against Erik’s fingers.

The fake kiss barely lasted a second--four, at the most, just to really make it convincing--and Erik pulled back with aplomb, and… yeah, Nova’s face looked just as alarmed and ready to combust as he’d imagined. Even his pupils had seemed to shrink from the shock. Erik wondered, idly, if this was how shypox got around so quickly. Could the Luminary even catch shypox? The chances seemed surprisingly high now.

Still calm and collected, he smiled at Nova with a raised brow, and patted his cheek once before walking back to their riddle assailants. “There. Happy now?”

The devil shrieked with raucous laughter, pointing and hollering at the two of them with unbridled joy. “Ohhhh, ho ho ho, that’s good! That’s good! His face, that’s so good! Oh, that’s gonna keep me going for a long while!”

“Glad t’ see ye’ve come around, mate.” The cyclops said, clearly relieved that its companion was satisfied. “All’s well, then, I’d say?”

“All’s very, very well!” The devil hopped off the cyclops, landing on the ground in a triumphant flip. “We’ll let you humans off easy now for giving us such a great laugh. But you’d better watch yourselves! We might not be so lenient next time!”

“Well, that’s mighty gracious of you.” Erik prodded along. “So thanks for that. I don’t think we’ll be forgetting anytime soon.”

The devil turned up its nose and puffed out its chest, thankfully unaware it was the butt of the joke. With a pleased hum, it turned an about face, and skipped off deeper into the grove.

The cyclops made move to follow its friend, but stopped before Erik, bending over to offer him its fist.

“Nicely done there, guv. Have t’ respect that kind o’ finesse.”

“I’m a tricky one.” Erik bumped his fist against the cyclops’; his hand barely covered one blue finger. “Can’t say I envy you with a partner like that, though.”

“Ah, s’alright. Fate’s got a funny way o’ workin’ out like that. Maybe he don’t got a fine head o’ hair like yers, but he’s a fine bloke when y’ get down to it.”

The cyclops pulled back its hand, large fingers unfurling into a point behind Erik. “Speakin’ of. Is he gonna be alright?”

Erik looked over his shoulder. Nova hadn’t budged even a bit since he’d stepped away, and looked like he was passing through sixteen different panic attacks--one for every birthday candle, Erik supposed, but still. It didn’t bode well for how settling down for sleep would inevitably go.

“...well,” said Erik, “he’ll snap out of it eventually.”

[empressxmachina]

Endgame - 1. Played

(on Wattpad)  | (on DeviantArt) Cover made with Adobe Spark. No relation to the Avengers movie. 

"It was like when you make a move in chess and just as you take your finger off the piece, you see the mistake you've made, and there's this panic because you don't know yet the scale of disaster you've left yourself open to." ― Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go 

"I've got to say, Freya. For someone who has only learned how to play this game fairly recently, you sure do put up quite a fight."

"Yeah... How about no, Ren? I don't think 'fight' is the word if I can never win... or even get past a certain point *gasp* like I've just done again. Damn it!"

Ren, Freya's current game opponent and best friend for a handful of years, couldn't help but chuckle at her repeated rookie mistake on the game board and her frustration. As routine as the failures were, he also couldn't help but be proud of her for finally realizing that at a certain point – the only he always somehow got her to reach – there was only one way for the game to go from there. It allowed him to win every time they played that game of rivaling kingdoms. Lucky for him, it was just a game because Ren was sure Freya would win in a battle of blood.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Frey," he tried to comfort her. "You're technically still learning. Besides, up to this terrible move of yours, you took some stances that I have never seen before. Quite impressive."

"Yeah, yeah,” she huffed. “But it's no fun if I can never win."

"Maybe one day, girl," he replied, making his next move toward victory. “Maybe one day.”

"At this rate, I'm seriously doubting that idea. I just play along until you lock me in, and I lose... again.”

Ren could empathize with her, remembering the years it took for him to win his first game legitimately. In fact, it was about the same number as Freya had been learning from him. So, it was only a matter of time before shit got real. But for now, he enjoyed his moments of awaiting victory and sympathizing for his favorite friend in her laments, like the antagonizing question she threw after groaning to herself,

“How did you even learn about this game?"

"I told you," he said, patiently waiting for a move from his lady friend, who seemed like she wasn't going to cooperate at all. “My family taught me, mostly my father. Everyone in the family is trained from the start to become a master Caissa player."

"Sure, they were," Freya responded, disbelieving. "But, how did they learn it? Did your ancestors or whatever get it from traveling somewhere, or what?” Ren hadn’t a clue how to react to the inquiry. It was nothing deep in his eyes – just a game – yet she made it sound like a crime. “No matter how many times you say it, I'm not going to believe that you just learned it from 'family back in Lucia.'"

Ren fought back, hand over his heart. "But... but I did! That's where they're from; it’s where I live!"

"Oh, is it? Is it really? That's not what anyone over there said."

"’Anyone over there?’ What does that—?” A simple pause was enough to get all of Ren’s mental cogs running on overdrive, and they weren’t powering anything good. “You went to Lucia? Alone!?"

Ren couldn't believe that. Her going to his hometown without some kind of entry permit would be, well, knowing his 'neighbors', probably fatal for someone like her. Anyone at all going in uninvited is bad. But if he questioned her ways in, he'd look suspicious, and he knew it. He was just glad that she wasn't killed or something.

"Well, yeah,” Freya casually confirmed. “You always talk about the ups and downs of your family, and you’ve met mine. I wanted to meet yours, so I searched, whether you wanted me to or not."

Hearing such statements sent a chill up Ren's spine. While it may have been his family she was looking for and not some real adversary, even he was still intimidated by them, from time to time. He couldn’t imagine bringing a girl like her home, as just a friend or otherwise.

His apprehension and general discomfort toward her seemingly unwelcome visit didn’t go unnoticed by Freya. Ren was naïve or simply brought up differently, especially if his Caissa knowledge proved anything. But being secretive, all the while fearful about the withheld, was new. It was all in his face, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like not learning about his home more, but at least she could sort of kill two birds with one stone.

"Luckily for you, I wasn’t so lucky,” she detailed, hoping to relax him back to cockiness. “When I went over there one day after work and asked around, no one had even heard of you. I only found, like, three girls of a similar name, but none of them knew of a 'young adult male named Ren with an R.'"

Her anecdote didn’t end there, as much as it could have. She continued, telling different tactics and pathways she took to try and mark every Lucian citizen in her sight. Meanwhile, Ren absorbed her story, growing more in confusion with every word. Such logic, despite being brilliantly thorough, made no sense to him. It wouldn’t have been necessary in order to lock him down. Though, with him being pinned, she probably would’ve been, too, magnifying his worries.

It just wasn’t right, and it didn’t take long for him how true that was. He remembered the kind of person Freya was, in more ways than one. She may have done things differently than him with different looks and upbringing, but, with the exception of Caissa, she was rarely wrong.

She couldn't possibly have been speaking of his Lucia.

Using bits and pieces of his geography lessons from days of old, he figured out what her Lucia was: a quaint district not too far from where they were. He had surprisingly completely disregarded the possibility of cities and towns sharing names across regions, disappointing himself. However, he didn't sulk about it for too long, both understanding that he couldn't leave Freya hanging in silence any longer without looking strange and relieved of the reality.

"Uh, I guess they were all being protective of me or something," he lied, feigning a confident chuckle. "My family does try to be as private as possible."

As bad as he has felt, keeping such a large part of his life away from her, he knew that his family would have to come at a later date. He just couldn't do it himself, not yet. Though, with the latter half of his reply technically being a fact, his conscience could rest slightly easier.

"I guess that's understandable," Freya answered back, trying to be fair about the situation yet still cautious. "Though, I would like to meet them one day. Can you promise me that?"

Ren relaxed at her calmness and nodded, guaranteeing it.

"Good,” Freya smiled. A deep breath followed, dispensing all bad vibes into the air before getting walloped by the inevitable laid out in front of her. “This isn’t though, except for you,” she sighed, referring back to the pending game. “I might as well finish this before I—”

"Um, Freya?" someone called from a distance, stopping her hovering hand from moving the game piece now in it. She and Ren looked to their sides through the nighttime darkness outside to eventually find the almost blinding source: Freya's mother Miriam calling on top of the hill behind her home, with only her silhouette being visible in a nearby lantern's light. "C-Can you come here for a second?"

"Coming, Mother," Freya called back with a sigh. "Sorry, Ren. Mother calls. I'll be right back."

"Do what you've got to do, girl," Ren smiled back. "I have to rub this win in your face, so don't take too long.” Freya playfully stuck her tongue out in response, before running off to her mother.

Ren watched her disappear and waited for her return, breathing in the crisp, sweet air that he still wasn’t used to experiencing. It wasn’t like he was a hermit or homebody; he spent more than enough time out of the house. In fact, he wouldn’t dare put money on guessing whether he spent more time with Freya and her big family or his own. Not that it really mattered since both made him happy and he had reached adult age a while ago, the suspected truth, whatever it was, would probably make him sad in some way or another. In an attempt to prevent troublesome calculations, Ren inhaled deeply, clearing his mind and lungs for sweeter sensations.

The Müller lands, the property that Freya’s namesake family owned, was as vast as they were numerous. Considering that matriarch Miriam managed to pop out nine over several decades and not look it, there was more than enough space for multiplying a multitude. Bordered by trees on side and back. A crisp water source deeper in the woods. Solid cropland and beautiful garden stretched further down and at the foot of the hill past Ren’s feet. It was beautiful to observe.

The roads, though invisible from his view, were empty most of the time whenever he was around. The fields beyond seemed to be clear most days, too. However, with both of their vastness, it was more than obvious that he and the family weren’t the only souls to traverse them. If one didn’t look to the width of the road for proof, then one could look to the current Caissa table. A table that looked a lot like a spool for yarn. Sure, it could’ve been for rope – the animals not too far away gave a reason for rope – but it definitely looked more like yarn that’d be way too thick for humans to wear comfortably.

Yet, at this place, it was always just him and the family that practically adopted him and no one to suggest anything else.

Despite the different appearances and names of places, the skies, grounds, and air were the same, no matter where across the bounds of Zronis or all around Eylea he walked, swam, etc. Eylea was still that same rock just distant enough from the sun to give him life. The moon and stars, including said sun, above still shined on its surface. The oceans still ebbed and flowed along the coasts. Yet, even with those constants, there was something about being there compared to Ren’s home that was different. Different but special, comforting, and so many other good things. It brought a smile to his face. He didn’t want to leave.

He didn’t want to leave until he saw something out the corner of his eye, and that wish of less homey loneliness vanished.

A shadowy figure began to appear through the bordering forestry. Ren slowly turned his head toward the shape to see two glowing beacons appear near its top, staring right at him. At first, he figured it was just an animal that he could easily fight off. A night fight would put him at less of an advantage than usual, but it should’ve been fine. It would’ve been fine. However, as the shadow then grew to unfathomable heights above the darkened greenery and began to charge for him, his confidence dropped.

Rumbles in the ground grew as the being quickly approached, definitely going for him rather than his best friend or her mother, just as quickly letting Ren know that continuing to sit there was probably going to be a mistake. Before any other instincts could tell him otherwise, he was jumping off his wooden stool and sprinting off to anywhere but the house, with adrenaline and escaping being his only focuses. Them and whatever the Müller women were doing in, hopefully, more safety than him.

***

After a longer time than necessary – leaving Ren proved more unwanted than imagined – Freya finally reached her mother who looked beyond frazzled out of her skin.

"Mother?” she worried, curling her arms into herself like she didn’t know what to do. A fitting move, it was, considering she really didn’t. “What's wrong?"

"There is, um... a man at the door," she replied in a forceful whisper, still shaken up, pulling her daughter around the side of the house to the front area.

The statement injected Freya with a flurry of confusion. The words. The delivery. The suddenness. It all was obvious in her response back. “Oh, really?” A single but strong nod was the reply: a sign of stress. Her mother never got that flustered unless she thought about one thing, and Freya, being the only one who could empathize the most if not more with her, had to ask. “Did you finally find a special someone?”

Freya went in with risk, with most of the odds out of her favor, but the look Miriam returned could kill her, making her regret the move immediately.

“Uh, I-I’ll take that… a-as a no?”  

Miriam’s look was fierce, but, as usual, her heart was soft, and she couldn’t hold such hardness for too long. Not when her baby looked so close to bursting to tears at her nearly burst a vein.

"I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she apologized, shaking the anger out her system and working out her kinks. Her cherry of a face blanched to his normally pale porcelain as she finger-combed her blonde locks. Some of their flaxen hues were definitely passed to her daughter, culminating into Freya’s semi-brown tresses, but she couldn’t claim much else about the rest of her hair qualities. The occasional fits she had with others about their blood connection being legitimate due to their other visual differences, too - Freya's tan skin and big lips, to name a few - weren’t fun, but she’d deal with those troubles any day. For her. For any of her spawn. They were more than worth the fight.

As for this, maybe it wasn’t.

“I just—” Miriam struggled to find the words. “Now’s really not the time to get in that kind of headspace, not with… him here.” She wouldn’t be able to handle losing again.

Freya sighed in disbelief. “Damn, Mother. What the fuck did he do to you?”

“He…” Miriam quickly ran her hands down her face before continuing. “He asked me some things that, well, seem quite nonsensical. But I am not going to be the one to combat his queries… or anything else about him."

"Oh, come on. There shouldn't be any guy to make you afraid to speak your mi—” As her frame entered the light of the home’s front lanterns, Freya’s previously confident self instantly went quiet at the sight of their house guest.

Her eyes slowly ascended to meet the man's eerily glistening, glass-shielded ones that shifted to look down at them from high above, each one appearing almost as large as her head. Their high altitude was enough to describe his immense size, compared to their own. But with the glows from light by the door shining onto him, illuminating his fancy uniform and his kneeling position on some kind of regal towel, they knew he was even larger than how he currently appeared, in both size and status.

If that wasn't enough, then the large horse-drawn carriage with gold detailing, flags, and a volume that dwarfed their stone cottage was. Though, since his sizeable, slightly wrinkled, salt and pepper self basically did that, too, on his own, it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise.

Obviously, he wasn’t human. Not even close.

Freya flashed a flurry of questions to herself in her head before shaking it off. As much as she didn’t want to, it was time for hostile hospitality. Upon finally speaking to induce it, however, appearing even more like a necessity than a choice, she couldn’t help but wheeze.

"G-Good evening, sir,” she politely greeted the enormous official with a slight curtsy. “What brings you to our little village at such an hour?" Freya never liked using such wording to describe human things to 'those of larger life', considering how they tended to interpret them. But it was better for her to say it rather than someone else to laugh it out at her... again.

Or, worse.

"Greetings, ladies," the Drac greeted back, tipping his head politely to both women. Directing himself toward Miriam, he then inferred, "May I assume that this is your daughter, ma’am?"

She slowly nodded in agreement – a look Freya was sure hid intense fear – to which the giant responded with a soft smile,

"Splendid, and she looks around his age, too."

The catalog of queries never stopped running in Freya’s head, but that comment brought it to a brief halt. "Uh, his?" she called up to him.

"Why, yes, 'his'. His Royal Highness. You see, I am Arden Gilliam, Lord-in-Waiting to His Royal Majesty." The mother-daughter duo looked at each other, shrugging in confusion before he continued. "Really? You, humans, aren't even a bit aware of the Drachian kingdom through these woods? Surely, neither of you are field hands, but I can understand if traversing through these woodlands to the wall would be a treacherous feat for you..."

The ladies listened to the lord's mumbles with hidden annoyance, though it was a more difficult task for Freya than her 'more experienced' mother. They had no authority to clarify or talk to a Drac, according to law, above all one in the royal circle, which the younger human hated with a passion. So, they just waited until there was a bit of silence before continuing the conversation.

"Sir... Arden, is it?" Freya started, making note of his lord status. "We are quite knowledgeable of the royals; however, your point to these descriptions is fleeting. We are nothing close to House Maddox, King Ruben, the prince, and the like. Why are you here?"

Arden was taken aback by the miniature miss’s sharp tone and questionable phrasing. Miriam was, too, but she chose to bite her tongue until they were alone. If they didn’t die by Arden’s hand first. Or, foot. Anything of his, really. It wouldn’t be difficult to do if they didn’t see it coming.

The Drachian lord had half of a mind to curse the little young lady’s lips and her moves to freely flap them, but he put the thoughts aside, figuring that she was attempting to speak professionally to him: a breath of fresh air, compared to the usual silence from humans he received... in the cases when he didn't order for it, that is.

"Right. Well, excuse me for causing a tangent," he apologized somewhat flatly. "Coming out to Sresa, let alone anywhere in the Outer Crescent, was the last thing I expected to do, but here I am, and, to anyone else, here is where my being here will stay.”

In the brief duration Arden took to pause, Freya looked passed him and his carriage down the road into the forests and toward mainland Zronis. Technically, she in Sresa was on the mainland, too, not even close to the shore. But, as they were in the Outer Crescent, there were still those two incomprehensible walls that kept her and any human as far as she knew distant from the capital and kingdom. Mille in the center and Olla that edged the Crescent, then the colossal coppice that stretched to the Müllers’ door and beyond. There was so much space, both to Olla alone and to the capital where Arden presumably lived. It was more than flustering to wonder why any Drac would be here.

To elsewhere in the Crescent, sure. At other times of day, sure. But here and now, specifically, was a conundrum to solve.

With a clearing of his throat, Arden regained Freya’s focus and commenced that explanation,

“I and others of the Royal Household are here in search for the prince. While he’s generally given free roam that he may spend in his lonesome, those durations in solitude usually end before sundown every day. As we all can see, the moon has risen, and we’ve grown tired of being unaware, no matter the time. This is something of which we do not approve."

"It is fairly late out, sir," Miriam agreed, looking up to the indigo-to-black gradient skies, more so to stay on the large lord's good side. "However, does His Royal Majesty not have trust in his son's return?"

"His return is not the concern," he hissed tersely before composing his pop of fury with more slow breathing.

As he calmed, Arden moved back slightly in order to lean down and look his watchers directly in the eye at their level. Of course, they defensively retreated, too, and the lord noticed in turn. But they, as people, were not his focus at the moment. If they were, then Freya’s hang-up on his usage of ‘we’, despite him being alone, would’ve been obvious.

On the other hand, they could see the lord's face in clear light now, showing how he had to be near middle-aged if not already there or over, not far in age from Miriam, if at all. Being overpowered by a possibly younger soul sent a quick splash of sickness down the mother’s throat.

Once he settled into his new pose, like a child examining a new set of figures with their heads to his irises, he resumed. "It is a thankfully assured fact that Prince Silas always returns back to the Palace when he’s needed. It is his ways of leaving and this repeated routine of his that bother us. We are unsure of his destinations with every travel, on top of how he has been drifting out of sight like this for years on end."

"Aren't you all supposed to have eyes on His Royal Highness at all time?" Freya assumed with crossed arms, intrigued by the prince's stealth. "How do you just lose him, and why would he be here, of all places?"

"Little girl, we do not 'just lose him!'" Arden jeered through grating teeth. Freya was really starting to rub him the wrong way, and everyone there knew it. While Miriam nudged her daughter's side to try to put her back in check, Freya was pleased with the man-mountain's obvious bother. "Thanks to some frequenting to an alchemist under our noses, he’s purchased elixirs that make him hidden to any device that we have, including a certain 'diminishing' type."

Freya challenged the thought. "’Diminishing’, like what?"

"’Diminishing’, as in reducing his size to assimilate and disappear within the human population, as if he was one of their own." With that, the human duo gasped in shock. That was greatly unexpected, even for a rebellious royal. Their expressions lightened the giant's mood. "As for being here, this is just where we're looking tonight. So, not only is our arrival right now a survey of the area, but it is also a warning. In case our search comes up short, we may have to pass through here to go forward in the future."

With all of his repeated first-person plurals and plural possessives, Freya was almost at her wit’s end, trying to understand who else this noble behemoth was referencing aside from himself. As much as she knew her mother would be against it, Freya didn’t feel like she had much to lose from asking. However, the question was answered for itself before she could manage a mutter.

"Arden!" another masculine but even huskier voice soon barked from afar. A bark that bellowed through both humans’ cores, despite being out of sight. The heavens knew what it did to Ren and his usually off-kilter self. "The Royal Runt has been obtained."

The sounds of crushing dirt and grass increased as Arden rose to face the approaching giant – a much girthier and hairier man whose look screamed machismo encased in uniformed elegance – with a palm out ready to receive something.

"Luckily, you two and no one else in the vicinity will have to worry about that," he regarded, now towering above the diminutive twosome. "Ah. Thank you, Bertram,” he then acknowledged his peer. “I'm sure that retrieving our little boy couldn't have been too hard. In fact, I believe that this is a new catching record for you, even if the other times were with pets and pests."

"Hey, I’m caught up in tenser situations on the inside than you are," Bertram Wintsch, representative voice of the king, spoke, almost defensively. "Whenever I can do some sporting in the fresh air, especially if it’s for work, I will not pass it up. I never thought I would ever be doing it for our boy, though. Literally." The Drachian duo shared a laugh as the marshal, Bertram’s technical title, retrieved the relatively tiny, supposed Prince from a coat pocket to pass him along to his cohort in the Royal Court. "He did pretty well to constantly slip in and out of the capital for five years,” Bertram snickered, both fatherly humored and enraged to no bound. “Many adventures were definitely had, huh, boy?"

The bitty boy gained his balance on top of Arden’s gloved palm, looking quite doll-like in comparison. However, unlike his high status, he stood unconfidently in silence, head down with face out of sight of everyone. The humans below had heard rumors of the Royals being highly blessed in the aesthetics department, so they were very curious to take a look at the prince.

Looking past the appalling appearance of relative weakness, they were already surprised at how plainly he was dressed, even if it was just a costume. It looked like something the men in their family would wear. Yet, it looked even more familiar than that.

Almost too familiar.

“Your Highness,” Arden sighed, sharply cutting the silence. ���You are going to have to deal with this, sooner or later, so you might as well deal with it now.” But the prince stayed sheepish, aggravating his court. Freya was shocked to find how that also included other Dracs she hadn’t considered: those that were returning from their searches in other directions to re-enter the carriage. Miriam’s silence on that subject certainly wasn’t So, Arden increased the passion, using both voice and an outstretched battering ram of a finger to his ribs. “Silas Lauren Maddox, you will answer me at once!”

The voice shook many of the flora in close proximity and nearly knocked Freya and Miriam to the ground, but they all kept their bearings. The prince, in fear, rapidly shot up his head to face the giants, and Freya could immediately see a familiar face and body in the moonlight. She knew that fair-skinned, dark-eyed brunette with the toned physique anywhere.

“What? What!? What am I supposed to say!?” the puny prince cried out, sending an equally familiar voice to Freya’s ears as well. She could not believe this. It had to be a dream.

“Do you know how dangerous this is?” Bertram interrogated. “Do you have any idea how the kingdom would look if anyone found out about your antics – how detrimental this would be, knowing the prince is trying to mix in with the humans?”

“I wasn’t trying to—!”

“And, don’t even get me started with the legality of the situation!”

“Easy, Bertram,” Arden cooed. “Let’s not forget about the risks toward his safety as well. I’m pretty positive that if His Majesty found his son in harm, he’d be sent in a tizzy that would knock the whole Kingdom off its course.” The young royal bit his lower lip, cringing at how true that would be. “Silas, what were you thinking?” Arden expressed, genuinely concerned. “Was all of this really necessary for freedom?”

“I… I…” He turned his head down toward Freya, hoping for support, and he couldn’t take the disappointed, testing expression on her face. He didn’t know what to say. He was simply defeated. “I don’t know.”

The two Dracs, on the other hand, saw his look toward the ladies and began making assumptions.

“Did either of you two know of His Highness’ travels out here?” Bertram inquired with force. Miriam immediately denied the idea, but Freya stayed stoic, with mouth agape. “What about you, young one?” he then directed toward her. “Have you encountered Prince Silas out here at any time before today?”

Freya looked at the two living towers before taking a glance at Ren. As much as he was Silas, it was going to take a lot of work for him to not be the Ren she knew. Or, thought she knew. But that process had already started upon realizing the truth, thus she blankly responded to the marshal,

“No, sir. I had never seen him before in my life.”

The prince’s eyes widened at her words, confused, shocked, and brutally disheartened at her answer. But he didn’t fight it. He didn’t want to get her in trouble, so he played along. Her addendums to keep up that façade didn’t make it any easier, though.

“I don’t believe he should have any reason to be out here at all,” Freya determined, almost too defensively to not be offensive at the same time. However, the prince knew she had a way with words, and with her crossed arms and low-key scowl, who knows how unlikely the latter really was? “After all, we are still kept apart for a reason, yes?”

Just like the prince, the giants couldn’t believe what they were hearing. But, unlike him, they couldn’t have been more pleased with her perspectives.

“Now, that is something you don’t see every day: a human sharing our point of view,” Bertram said with a smirk. “Isn’t that right, Arden?”

Arden wholeheartedly agreed, adjusting his glasses to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating it. “You’re very right, Bertram. You are certainly one in a million, young miss. We need more ladies as intelligent as you—no, more people as intelligent as you.”

Freya responded to their comments with a seemingly appreciative curtsy, but their words still stung deeply. All of their high class and high height couldn’t hide their smugness.

“Thank you, sirs,” the feisty female returned, maintaining her feigned appreciation. But she couldn’t and wasn’t going to do it for long. “Now, as you’ve already mentioned, the moon has risen, and I believe that it is time for us to retire for the evening and to put…” She quickly shot a look at her liar of a ‘friend’. “…everything behind us. I’m glad that my mother and I could be of assistance, but I’d say our time together is quickly coming to a close. Wouldn’t you?”

Ren had so much he wanted to say to her, to explain why he concealed so much of himself; however, no words would escape his lips, and his sadness went unnoticed.

“I could not agree more,” Arden smiled. “And with that, we all of the kingdom wish you many thanks for your hospitality during our recovery of our sweet Silas. Take care, ladies.”

With a shared bow of the head from all except His Royal Highness, the prince was repacked into a pocket, and the Dracs retreated to their carriage, shaking the ground as it turned and took off on its way, presumably back to the palace. As it went, it dragged Ren’s lingering look of panic – the rapid one from his involuntary re-pouching and the ongoing one from Freya’s ultimate denial of him.

Well, Freya felt it lingering. She couldn’t say the same for her mother.

The diminutive damsels stayed outside watching the vehicle shrink into the distance until it popped out of view. Miriam was the first to comment on the evening, surprisingly cheery, given her first impression of the guests.

“Oh, Freya, can you believe it!?” she fawned. “The Drachian prince… hidden as a human out here? Oh, it’s a fairy tale in the making!”

Overcome with too many emotions to count, her daughter spat back. “Fairy tales are nothing but lies.”

“Freya Tove, I know you have your… opinions of the taller personas, as you absolutely should, but you did not have to be so obvious about it. You’re lucky they didn’t… k-kill you on the spot!” The waver, in its silence, brought more meaning to Miriam’s reasonable warning. She had every right to be paranoid. Freya knew that too well.

The flashbacks were too real.

“I just can’t believe this! He’s—!” To say Freya was mad would’ve been the understatement of the century if not the millennium. “Fuck, that fucking liar! He’s not from local Lucia. He’s from big ass Lucia!” Lucia: the fittingly ginormous Drachian capital kingdom city in the central, even bigger district of Acrya. Lucia: past Olla and entrapped by Mille, wherein lied the head courthouses that rarely if ever tested her fate, the top legislative buildings that always did, and the main palace that held the royal family. Those of Ren’s blood. Ren himself.

Silas Lauren Maddox. Ren. Lauren. Lauren. It was right in front of her. His face and his title were rarely joined together in her neck of the woods, but he looked enough like his father that she could definitively recognize on sight for a relation to be questioned. It was so obvious all this time that it wasn’t at all.

“God damn it, why didn’t I figure this out earlier!? UGH!”

Miriam, while highly experienced with childish tantrums, had never seen such fury ignite from her only daughter, let alone any of her children. Yes, she was surprised to learn such a truth, but it didn’t hit her as hard. Not much did anymore. Nonetheless, watching Freya as she stormed into the house and flopped onto her bed, slamming every door along the way, still broke her heart.

“Freya, please,” she pleaded outside her door, trying to knock it open. “You’re upset, yes, but locking yourself up won’t help anything.”

“It’ll keep me farther from the problem. That’s for sure!” she fought, with her head stuck in the bed covers.

“But… But you haven’t even had any dinner! We can talk about this over a nice stew, a salad… or even a cake. We’ll just skip dinner altogether and go right to dessert! Sugar to sweeten the soul, okay?” Miriam pressed her ear to the door for a response. Only huffing got back to her, but that wasn’t a no. “It’ll just be an hour or so, and the boys will be back by then. Promise me that you’ll come.”

Freya knew her mother wouldn’t give up until she complied. Plus, having some cake would be a nice temporary pillow for her problems. It surely would solve her issue with her now ex-friend, but it would be better than talking. So, it was to no one’s surprise when she replied,

“That cake better be fucking amazing.”

Miriam laughed at her daughter, pleased to be able to poke one joke out of her for the time being. She knew that it wouldn’t be the end, and that mouth of hers would need some tweaking, but a chat over treats would be a soft start to the finish.

[sege-h]

sO, YESTERDAY, AT THE AGE OF 24, I DISCOVERED SOME ASSHOLE PRANKED AWAY MY CHANCE TO GET A DOG. WHEN I WAS LIKE 6 OR SMTH.

I ALSO DISCOVERED WHAT A PUBLIC HOUSE IS

IDK IF YALL USE THAT WORD

IT IS A HOUSE YOU DONT WANT TO GO IN BECAUSE NASTY THINGS ARE AFOOT

ok. Ok

Breathes

ok

So at work we were talking abt childhood things as parents being like ‘ill tell you later’ in hopes you will forget or ‘i will tell u when ur older’ and etc and one coworker was like ‘oh yeah. my parents never did that. The one time they did it was when I heard the words ‘public house’ and asked them what that was. They told me it was a bar. And then I referred to a bar as a public house so they realized the best idea was to tell me the truth next time’

Now, I dont know what a public house is either. But I connect the dots and realize what it is

And I just drop out of the conversation, screaming internally

Because from the abyss of my memories, one particular one claws its way out to the top

When I was little, there was a TV show dedicated to pets. They had a section where they showed ads for pets that were for sale, or up for adoption.

And one was like ‘Free puppies to a good home!’ with a phone number and all

I, having asked my mom and grandma for a dog every christmas, and every birthday, and 27382 times inbetween whenever I’d see these ads or stray dogs on the street, decided to go against fate. And asked my grandma if we could get one.

Because she was the 1 person that always foiled my dog having plans. My mom was ok with having a dog but was like ‘sweetie you know we cant’

But this time, grandmother said yes. I dont know if this was a day that happened every 1000 years, or if the planets had aligned even though they shouldnt be able to, or if some merciful demon possessed this woman.

But she said yes.

So I grab a piece of paper, write down the number on tv, check several times if I wrote it down right.

And I call, and it rings, and its picked up. And as soon as I heard a ‘hello’, little 6 year old excited me is like ‘hello, I’m calling about the puppies’

And this very confused voice on the other side goes quiet, and then says ‘little girl, this is a public house’ and I just go ‘oH. Sorry for the mistake, bye!’

Now, I thought this person referred to their house in a weird way. Of COURSE its a public house. Everyones house is public! You dont just sit in your house on your own all the time, you call over guests and stuff sometimes! And you get like, a TON of guests whenever a birthday is happening! Or did they mean it in a mean way? Like, um, this is a PUBLIC house, for HUMANS, there are no dogs or animals of any kind allowed here!

I was p bummed out, since I’d assumed despite all my checking, I’d gotten the number wrong, and missed my once in a lifetime chance to have a dog.

BUT. WITH YESTERDAYS DEVELOPMENTS, I KNOW NOW.

I KNOW WHY THAT VOICE WAS CONFUSED

AND WHY WHEN I TOLD MY GRANDMA WHAT I WAS TOLD, SHE SEEMED TO GET PANICKED ALL ‘oH UH YEAH YOU MUSTVE MADE A MISTAKE. DONT CALL THAT NUMBER AGAIN’

AND I KNOW NOW SOME PRANKSTER ASSHOLE PUT THAT NUMBER UP SO PEOPLE WOULD CALL IN FOR FREE PUPPIES

FUCK YOU. IF ID PICKED A DIF NUMBER THAT DAY, OR IF THERE WAS A LEGIT AD IN THE PLACE OF YOURS, I COULD HAVE HAD A DOG

MY GRANDMA NEVER SAID YES TO HAVING A DOG EVER AGAIN

[laurensisalinamonroll-blog]

Tall, Dark and Handsome

 Words:2172 

This is my first X Reader for the Hamilton fandom, I hope you enjoy!- Grace

Modern and Soulmate AU. For the sake of the plot, Reader lives in the U.K.

"You can hear your Soulmates's thoughts, and they can hear your own. You have the ability to 'tune' them out. Although, any attempt to find one another before fate has planned, will ultimately fail. That would include asking each other's location and so on."

Everyone first hears their soulmate at a different age. I first heard mine when I was 14. I was in the midst of an English literature exam. I remember looking at my paper frustrated, my pen tapping rhythmically against my forehead. 'Provide a short statement using the Rule Of Three'. I couldn't remember what it was, never-mind give an example.

I let out a growl in vexation, which prompted Mr. Johnston to narrow his eyes and glare in my direction. I quickly looked away. 'Think (Y/N), think! Rule of three, think of an example for the rule of three. I mean, it has something to do with 3...'

"Tall, dark and handsome," a voice said. I looked at the classmate who had sat beside me- then at everyone else in my vicinity. My eyes were wide with confusion, that voice had sounded eerily close. Then my jaw went slack in realisation. "Tall, dark and handsome," the voice had repeated, "while they are three words that perfectly describe me, it's also an example of the Rule Of Three."

That was five years ago. I'm now 19, and in my first year of university. Since that day, I speak to my soulmate everyday. He turned out to be a 17 year old (now 22) boy who lived in the Caribbean. His name was Alexander, and after two years of  us speaking, he moved to the U.S. That didn't make much difference to me, as I lived in the U.K. Although, as of four months ago, I moved to America.

I had gotten a full Scholarship to NYU to study modern languages. When I had first tried to tell Alexander that I was now living in New York, it was almost like a phone line cut off. It just went silent and at first I thought he had left me. Soon after, however, he said my name and it was like the connection was fixed once more. This had only happened once before, when we tried to tell each other our last names. Fate had intervened.  

Now I'm leading a normal life as a student. I share a two bedroom apartment with my flat mate, Mia. She also goes to NYU, but she's studying law and is in her second year of University. She had contacted me via the university, looking for a new roommate. I accepted it immediately, she had lived in New York most her life and I was new to town- I'd need her.

Mia and I quickly grew close, and eventually became best friends. At the minute she's looking through the middle draw of the cabinet- the menu drawer. It was dubbed the name 'Menu Drawer' a few weeks after my arrival, as all take-out menus were shoved in there and forgotten until Friday evenings.  "We had a Chinese last week, so how about pizza?" Mia spoke up, stopping my thoughts.

I rolled my eyes as I broke out into a grin. It was her turn to pick, which meant pizza. I'm surprised she isn't sick of it at this point. "Go for it, not too many toppings though." I replied. With her chosen menu in her right hand and her phone in the other, she furrowed her eyebrows at me, "Why not?". I stood up from my place on the sofa and strutted to the middle of the room. I then continued to run my hands down my sides while wiggling my hips. "Because, I need to maintain this figure." I said, then proceeded to burst out into a fit of giggles. "Just messing, add as many as you like." Mia laughed along with me, blond hair bouncing at her shoulders.

I sighed and walked out of the main room, and headed down the hall to my bedroom. Mid-terms would be in a few weeks, and I really needed to revise. My Spanish is flawless, if i do say so myself. As is my German, but my French... my French is horrendous. I am going to fail French. "Aw, ma petite fleur. Qu'est-ce que tu as?"

"Alexander, I didn't know you spoke French, and like I said, I'm going to fail."

"I'm fluent, actually. And I'm sure you'll do fine, (Y/N). You're a smart girl."

"Says you, who finished college early and can speak French fluently."

"Yes but that's myself, you are dif- You said college."

"Uh, yeah?"

"You're British, they don't typically say College."

"Oh, I guess you're right"

"I'm always correct. Although, tell me, are you in America?"

"Yes! I tried to tell you that before but then w-"

"Hey, Pizza is here!" Mia called from the main room. I contemplated staying in my room and just talking to Alexander, but my duties as a friend calls.

"I gotta go, Alex. Can we talk later?"

"(Y/N)! You can't just leave, we're in the same country! Maybe that's why the time differences changed, I mean I didn't think to ask... Which state are you in? Wait, which University?"

I laughed slightly before replying, "Goodbye, Alexander."

I sat on the sofa nibbling on a slice of pizza. We were watching some old DVD Mia had. I had tried reaching out to Alexander to ask him what his favourite type of pizza was- but I didn't get a reply. I think he's still annoyed that I tuned him out earlier, which I understand. I still apologised, and pushed the slight doubt that he'd left me forever to the back of my mind. My train of thoughts then went to past conversations with Alexander.

He rambles a lot. When there's something that's annoyed him or something he feels passionate about, he will tell me. I think that's amazing. I personally am one to keep to myself. Alexander is such a contrast to me, and I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. If we were both very talkative or very quiet no actual conversation would be made. As the DVD continued, I kept eating my pizza and thinking of Alex.

It's Saturday afternoon, and I'm supposed to be revising French. The more I look at the text book, the more I get irritated. One hour in of doing nothing, I just screamed. I yelled and shouted profanities to get across that I cannot, for the life of me, remember any of this. A few seconds after, when my throat was hoarse and I was breathing heavily, Mia entered my room. She swung the door open, eyes open and alert.

"Is there a burglar? Or a spider?" She asked, looking around my room. I sighed and rested my head in the palms of my hands. "Neither. That was me practising the sound of despair I'll make when I fail my mid-terms." I mumbled. She made a soft 'Oh', and then made her way over to my desk and I. She heavily planted her hand on my head and ruffled my hair. I groaned and tried to shake her off.

"You'll be fine! What if I told you, that there is a guy in my Criminal Justice class that is French." she said. I raised my head to look at her, hair covering my eyes. I pushed my fringe out of the way and answered her, "I would say, 'good for him'? I don't see how that effects anything."

Mia giggled once more. "He's low on money, and is totally willing to do anything at the minute. He could tutor you in French for a few extra dollars." This made my ears perk up, a tutor! I still have a few hundred dollars in my saving account from birthday money and my job. "Do you think he'll accept $100 for three weeks of tutoring? Around two nights a week?" I asked, voice suddenly hopeful.

Mia's brown eyes twinkled as she nodded enthusiastically. "I'll text him now and ask him. But don't worry, he should be up for it!" she replied, phone already in hand. I sprung up from my chair and pulled her into a hug, jumping up and down. "Thank you, thank you." I chanted, she laughed and patted me on the head before she unlocked her phone.

The tutor worked a charm. That was four weeks ago, and I just got my results from my French exam. My tutor was called Lafayette, and he was possibly the kindest human being possible. After the three weeks of tutoring were over, I tried to give him a payment. When I did, he refused and said he would only give it to me after I got my results. As I walked out of the university campus, I couldn't help but think of the A I got.

"Well done. I told you that you could do it." I stopped and paused, that was Alexander's voice. He hadn't spoken to me for almost a month now.

"Alexander. Hi, and uh thank you."

"I'm sorry (Y/N). I shouldn't have ignored you. It was childish, and I've been busy at work, just please forgive me."

"Well... you're forgiven. I just got an A on my French exam, nothing can ruin my mood now."

"Good, I'm glad you got the results you deserve. When we meet I'm bringing you out to dinner to celebrate. Wherever you want to go."

That's when the reality hit me, 'When we meet'. I will meet Alexander. We're in the same country, we're both aware we're in the same country.

"That sounds great, Alexander. I just ca-," my thoughts came to an abrupt stop when my phone began ringing. "Alex, I need to go. I'm getting a call, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, love. My break is nearly over anyway, goodbye."

I blushed at the nickname before tuning him out. I looked at the caller ID to see Lafayette, then I quickly answered. "Hey, Lafayette!"

Lafayette was ecstatic to hear about my grade. We made arrangements to meet up at a small bar, so I could give him his fee and so we could catch up. I put on black skinny jeans, my favourite t-shirt and a pair of boots. I grabbed my jacket before I walked to the bar.

When I arrived, I spotted Lafayette at a table but he wasn't alone. Three other men accompanied him. Suddenly feeling small, I tip-toed over. They were laughing at something I wasn't aware of, and none of them seemed to notice me. I gently tapped Lafayette on the shoulder. He turned around and grinned at me. "You made it!" he all but shouted.

I simply nodded and waved back, a small smile on my face. On the inside I was panicking, I don't do well with new people. Especially if they're drunk. Well, Lafayette and the tall, muscled one were drinking. The guy with the freckles wasn't drinking, and neither was the attractive one with the long hair. It didn't matter, I was still panicking.

I can't do this, I'm going to die.

"(Y/N)? Is everything okay?" I visibly relaxed at Alexander's voice.

"I'll be fine, don't worry."

I heard Lafayette say something to me, then I snapped back to reality. "Oh sorry, that was rude of me. I was just, uh talking" I quietly explained, hoping he knew what I meant. His eyes widened and he nodded vigorously. "Oui, of course. Do not worry!" he said, accent coming through stronger than usual. Then, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a white envelope. It was his fee (which I raised to $150, because his tutoring was amazing).

As I handed it over Alexander spoke once more, "You know there's a girl here who might just steal me away from you."

"W-what?" I replied, even stuttering in my mind. There had been stories of soulmates who left each other for other people.

"(Y/N). Look at me please." Alexander spoke again, only this time it wasn't inside my mind. I looked around, and immediately locked eyes with the man with the long hair. He smiled at me and unexpectedly I blurted out, "Well if it isn't Tall, Dark and Handsome."  

I heard the tall muscled man mutter 'what the fuck' under his breath, but before I could respond I was pulled into an embrace. I'm almost positive he knocked over a chair getting to me. I hugged him back, as my heart raced a mile a minute. "How did you know it was me?" I asked, voice soft. I felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled. "Your accent was kind of a give away, and I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You never mentioned you were fucking gorgeous."

I squeaked and buried my head into his coat in embarrassment. He stepped away slightly and looked at Lafayette. "Sorry, Laf. I think I'll be tutoring her from now on."

Fin.

I don’t have anything to say.- Julia (She manages the account because Grace can’t use technology)

[topicprinter]

The Successful Life Formula“I want to live a successful life.”Yeah read that one more time. I know you have thought, written, dreamt, and spoken that a million times. Everyone has. It is human nature to want to achieve great things and be “successful”. But my question to everyone is how do you do it? How do you achieve that abstract term that is tossed around every single day by millions of people? How can you be successful?I first want to define success.Success is setting a goal and hitting it. End of story.Any time that you set a goal for yourself and hit it, you are successful.This goal-driven definition for success should be the only one in the dictionary because it can be applied to any achievement at all. Landing that dream job, becoming a billionaire, starting your own company, building homes for orphans in Haiti, losing 10 pounds before that family get-together, getting a date with that drop dead gorgeous girl you see at lunch every day, blah blah blah I could go on and on. Anytime you set out to do something and you do it, you achieved success. Therefore, success is having something that you want to accomplish and accomplishing it.This definition is important because you can apply the same theory to life itself, and you can use it to unlock the process for success. I call it the Successful Life Formula.The formula has three components:Know what you wantLearn how to get what you wantExecuteKnow what you want + learn how to get it + execution = successful lifeOnce we learn how to apply each piece, the unavoidable outcome is a life filled with the purest sense of joy and self-accomplishment. You will have success.First Piece of the Formula:I hear it all the time. “I don’t know what I want to do with my life.”This statement annoys me. It is crippling. If you want to achieve something great in life, no matter what that may be—success, fame, fortune—you need to know where you are trying to go. You need to have a goal. You need to have your sight set on something. (If you don’t want to do something great with your life, stop reading here).Imagine you are in a bar late one night. A man walks up to you and hands you a single dart and says to hit the target. The problem is that there are 10 different dart boards lined in a row at this bar. How do you know which target to throw your one dart at? How can you possibly hit THE target if you don’t know what board you are supposed to aim at?This obvious metaphor represents life. To hit THE target, you need to first know what you are aiming at. Yes, there is a slim chance that you could still hit the correct target without knowing which it is. You also could hit a different target and be mildly happy with that result. But if you want to hit the target that is going to lead to the purest sense of self accomplishment and joy, you need to know which target to aim at. Plain and simple. You need to define your goal. You need to know what it is you want.Now this part of the formula is not easy. It’s actually probably the hardest part of the equation, but you have to tackle it before you can achieve success.A lot of people really don’t know what it is that they want out of life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but you better be working hard to try to figure it out. Because the odds of hitting that dartboard without knowing where to aim are extremely low. So the question becomes this: how do you identify what it is you want out of life?NEVER STOP BEING CURIOUS.Let’s say you’re in high school and you attend a “moc-government” assembly of some sort where you get to act as a congress person. You have a blast and find it very interesting, so after the event you spend time googling what a day in the life of a US senator is. Interested even more now, you talk to your parents and get connected with someone they know in the local town government and arrange to meet with them and talk about what they like about their job. This general curiosity slowly leads to an informed idea of what it would be like to be a politician. Maybe you love what you learn so much that you decide you want to be a politician. Maybe you decide that you would rather pull out your front teeth than work in government. The point is, curiosity led you to knowledge. Knowledge about what you wanted or what you really didn’t want. This curiosity should be applied to anything and everything that you are genuinely interested in.You take a stock trading class in high school and take up an interest in the markets? Go start a paperless trading account and play the markets. Go research the hottest stocks out there that are “bound to blow up”. You play this new computer game that gets you curious about coding and building games? Go start learning to code on Code Academy completely for free. Go read about what it’s like to be a computer programmer. You see your favorite band perform live and fall in love with the atmosphere? Go pick up a guitar and teach yourself to play. Go learn about the music industry and the business behind the performance. The point is, if anything interests you or ignites a passion in you to the point where you want to know more, go devour any information there is about it and hustle. Learn about it at all costs. The internet is an insane thing, and you can literally learn anything from it. Curiosity + internet = unlimited knowledge.This isn’t a short project for an afternoon. This should be done continuously for years and years. Ideally throughout high school and college, but it is absolutely never too late to start. Once you have found something you are interested in, research it to death to the point where you know it is where your passions lie. You want nothing else in life but that thing. You know it is something that you would be THRILLED to spend the rest of your life doing. Once you hit this point, and I promise you will if you hustle and consume enough information, you have completed the first step. You know what you want.(Also, passions can change in life, but the process for discovery will always remain the same and starts with genuine curiosity)Second Piece of the Formula:Reverse Engineering AKA learn how to get what you want.Okay so you know what it is you want to do with the time you have here on earth, presuming Elon Musk doesn’t make us immortal by 2035, now what? Now you need to create a map of how you are going to get there. You need a plan. You need to completely understand how you are going to get from where you are now to where you want to be in the future. Thankfully, there are many ways to go about doing this.My favorite way to create this map is to find people who are currently doing what it is you want and learning EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM. Learn about how they did it and copy them.I’m serious. In life, you become the person that you take advice from. (Hence why most people turn into their parents). Make sure the people that you take advice from are the people you admire most!!! So get back on the internet, and learn everything about your heroes. Read their autobiographies. Go on Linkedin and look at their career paths. Call them up if you know them. Reach out in any way. Where were they when they were your age? What types of jobs did they have? What was their work ethic like? What things were they involved with? What did they do to separate themselves from the pack? How were they different? What advice do they have to give? Learn everything. These things will help paint the picture of how to get from where you are currently to where they are now.My favorite way of doing this is by starting with their Wikipedia page and reading the entire thing from top to bottom. Do this for everyone you admire. You’ll be amazed by how much you learn and how much more you will learn by clicking the blue links that are on their pages. Let’s say you’re on Mark Cuban’s Wikipedia page and you stumble upon some additional information that you want to know more about. Say you read that the first company that he started was MicroSolutions Inc. Well now click on that link and learn all about that piece of their life. Now you know that MicroSolutions was a software business that he started after getting fired from his job where he sold software packages for a store in Texas. Oh and then while reading about MicroSolutions you also come across another piece of information that you have never heard about. What now? Yep you guessed it. Go and google that and learn all about it. This type of learning compounds so quickly that you will become well versed in every aspect of your heroes life. This is the power of the internet.Continue to iterate this process with all of your heroes. Learn everything about them, what made them successful, where they went to school, first job, second job, third job, how they transitioned from one thing to the next etc. Slowly, a map will be created in your head detailing how to get from point A to point B. Obviously this won’t always be clear cut. But it will absolutely give you a fantastic idea of how to go about starting the journey towards your dreams. After all, you understand how all of these people realized their dreams, right? Now it’s your turn. It’s your Wikipedia page to fill out.Again this is an extremely long process. Research many, many people. Read many, many books. Talk to many, many individuals. Build that picture and that map. The picture will become more and more clear through hard work, curiosity, and a willingness to learn. (However it will never be 100% crystal clear on how to get from A to B. There will always be some degree of uncertainty. That is fine. That’s what makes it fun. Get creative.)Third Piece of the Formula:So you know what you want out of life, you know how to get there, what’s left? Executing. Start mimicking those hundreds of people that you researched. You know where they started and how they did it. Start to differentiate yourself by doing the same things that they did. Get that entry level job that will lead to a promotion in your dream field, start that blog that you’ve been telling yourself you’d write, get your ass out of bed and code up a minimum viable product for that application that you came up with, ask out that beautiful girl who you ride in the elevator with every other day on your way to the office. Start mimicking your heroes. Never copy them 100%, obviously. You are your own person with your own strengths and weaknesses. You just have to follow the map you created through your research. Maybe you go a step further than your heroes. Maybe you spice up what they did in a better way. Maybe you take a different approach. It is more important to copy the mindset, work ethic, and differentiating factors of their life—not necessarily to try to copy every aspect of their life.This will not be easy. It will be hard work. But it WILL start to add up. Every habit that you develop, every late night you log, every job that you take, every failure you encounter, every moment you spend researching and learning will get you closer and closer to your dream. It is only a matter of time now before you reach it.This is the Successful Life Formula. It will work if you commit to it.Set a goal. Break it down. Understand how to get from where you are now to where you need to be. Execute.Agree or disagree? I’d love to talk in the comment section below.